Saturday, February 17, 2007

Tet Preparation, Not So Great Char Siu Bao, and Really Great Banana Bread

Must scrub my kitchen and bathroom before Tet, the Lunar New Year, begins tomorrow. Gotta wash all my sheets and pillows and quilts on account of me coughing on them for the past week too. Washed both my featherbeds already. (Yes, you can wash featherbeds. They just take a very long time to dry.) And hopefully I can squeeze in organizing my paperwork and the books in my library.

It's not that I live in a pigsty. It's just that it's been ingrained that I need to clear away as much clutter as I can before the new year comes. So even though it's been years since I've lived at home, there are just some rituals that still stick with me into adulthood.

This year I opted for banana bread since my youngest aunt really liked the last batch I made. I've been tweaking the recipe a little bit and think it's a really great banana bread recipe. Very moist and banana-y if that's your thing. The trick is to wait for your bananas to get black so that they're super sweet and flavorful.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add bananas and vanilla and mix well.

Beat eggs by adding them in one at a time. Gently by hand, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt with butter/sugar/banana mixture. Gently fold in yogurt until just combined. Do not overmix. Then add nuts if you so desire.

Bake in a large greased loaf pan or two smaller ones at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to one hour.

Now doesn't that look like perfectly moist and very banana-y?

I always end up with the better end of the annual Tet exchange. Tomorrow I'll show you the yummy goodies my aunties and uncles gave me.

Enjoy!

Who made my recipe for banana bread?Christine D. said it was "really banana-y and moist" and "can't wait to eat more of this for breakfast."

Hi Chopsticks, I made this yesterday. Your banana bread/cake recipe is great! Not too buttery at all. I used all white sugar and all white flour. Added some toasted and chopped walnuts as well. Turned out great!I used muffin cups as I did not have a loaf pan... the funny thing is that my "banana muffins" did not rise like my orange muffins did. Any idea why?

As for the rise, the orange muffins used 2 more eggs than this recipe, so that'll help them rise more. Also, this recipe is a little wetter with the mashed bananas, butter, and yogurt, so that all contributes as well. Banana bread tends to be denser, more bread-like than cake-like so you won't get the same consistency. But what really matters is the taste, right? :)

Ar I see. Thank you teacher!Hehe at first I was very worried about using blackened bananas but since I bought them un-bruised, when they blackened, they turned out all right... and yeah.... very sweet.:)

Love that banana bread. -- My daughter was an exchange student for 2 weeks in a Japanese home. She had a wonderful experience. Her Japanese "mother" came to townabout 7 years later with a group.I invited her w/ 2 friends to myhome. They spoke no english, andI, no Japanese. But, the toastedand buttered banana bread w/ teareally hit the spot. They wantedthe recipe, and took it home with them. It was enjoyed by all.

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